Image reading apparatus

ABSTRACT

An image reading apparatus includes a first medium support section, a casing, a reading unit, and a posture switching section. The first medium support section supports a medium to be fed. The casing includes a reading unit that performs reading on the medium fed from the first medium support section. The reading unit performs reading on the medium fed from the medium support section. The posture switching section is configured to switch between a first posture in which the casing is inclined obliquely and a second posture in which the casing is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction more than in the first posture. An upper face of the casing is configured to be utilized as a second medium support section that is configured to mount the medium when the casing is in the second posture.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/356,027 filed on Mar. 18, 2019. This applicationclaims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-052143, filedMar. 20, 2018. The entire disclosures of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 16/356,027 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-052143 areexpressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus thatperforms reading on a medium.

2. Related Art

Some of image reading apparatuses, typically exemplified by a scanner,include an auto document feeder (ADF) that automatically feeds a sourcedocument, an example of a medium, to automatically feed and read aplurality of sheets of the source document.

Some of such image reading apparatuses include a casing having an upperface formed as an obliquely inclined surface, as described inJP-A-2014-86819. The image reading apparatus according toJP-A-2014-86819 includes a first supporter that supports the casing in afirst position, in which a sheet transport path is inclined with respectto a horizontal direction, and a second supporter that supports thecasing in a second position, in which the sheet transport path isoriented closer to the horizontal direction, than in the first position.

In the first position, in which the casing is supported by the firstsupporter, the sheet transport path is inclined with respect to thehorizontal direction, and therefore an increase in size of the apparatuscan be suppressed. In the second position, in which the casing issupported by the second supporter, the sheet transport path is orientedcloser to the horizontal direction than in the first position, theleading edge of a sheet can be prevented from colliding with, forexample, the floor surface on which the image reading apparatus isinstalled, when the sheet is a stiff sheet and is discharged.

Whereas the image reading apparatus configured to change theinstallation posture is known, still there is a room for improvement inthe following aspects. Referring to FIG. 15, those aspects will bedescribed hereunder. FIG. 15 illustrates a motion line of a user's hand,when a large document stack Pb is placed behind an image readingapparatus 100 (on the right in FIG. 15) and the user sets the sourcedocument on a feed tray 101 one by one from the uppermost sheet of thedocument stack Pb while confirming each time the content of the sourcedocument. In FIG. 15, a broken line S indicates the transport path ofthe source document to be read. A reference numeral 103 denotes adischarge tray that receives the source document that has beendischarged, and a reference character G denotes the installation base onwhich the image reading apparatus 100 is installed.

When the user sets the source document as above, the motion line U1 ofthe user's hand may be prolonged depending on the location of thedocument stack Pb, and thus the work efficiency may be deteriorated. Inaddition, the space for placing the document stack Pb has to be ensuredbehind the image reading apparatus 100.

SUMMARY

An image reading apparatus includes a first medium support section, acasing, a reading unit, and a posture switching section. The firstmedium support section supports a medium to be fed. The casing includesa reading unit that performs reading on the medium fed from the firstmedium support section. The reading unit performs reading on the mediumfed from the medium support section. The posture switching section isconfigured to switch between a first posture in which the casing isinclined obliquely and a second posture in which the casing is inclinedwith respect to a horizontal direction more than in the first posture.An upper face of the casing is configured to be utilized as a secondmedium support section that is configured to mount the medium when thecasing is in the second posture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a scanneraccording to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a document transport pathin the scanner according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view illustrating an appearance of thescanner according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the scanner according to thefirst embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is another side sectional view illustrating a document transportpath in the scanner according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a feed control process for thescanner according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a scanner according to asecond embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a scanner according to a thirdembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is another perspective view illustrating a scanner according tothe third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 includes side views each illustrating a scanner according to afourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 includes side views each illustrating a scanner according to afifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 includes side views each illustrating a scanner according to asixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 includes side views each illustrating a scanner according to aseventh embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 includes side views each illustrating a scanner according to aneighth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic drawing illustrating a motion line of a user'shand, when a scanner of the related art is used.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with referenceto the drawings. In each of the embodiments, the same element will begiven the same numeral, and described only in the first one of theembodiments that include the element. In the subsequent embodiments, thedescription of such element will not be repeated.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, an image reading apparatus according to afirst embodiment of the invention will be described. A reference numeral1A denotes a scanner exemplifying the image reading apparatus accordingto the first embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 1, the scanner 1A includes a document feed tray 11 exemplifyingthe medium support section configured to support a source documentexemplifying the medium (hereinafter, source document P) to be fed, andlocated on a rear side of a main body 2A including reading units 20 aand 20 b (see FIG. 2) that read the image on the source document P, anda discharge tray 5 configured to receive the source document P read anddischarged, and located on a front side of the main body 2A.

The main body 2A includes an operation panel 7, located on the upperface and configured to function as a user interface (UI) for inputtingsettings and execution instructions for reading, as well as displayingthe detail of the setting. In this embodiment, the operation panel 7 isa touch panel based on electrostatic capacitance configured to bothdisplay and receive inputs, in other words, serves as an operation unitfor executing various operations, as well as a display unit fordisplaying various types of information.

An inlet port 6 is provided on the rear side of the main body 2A so thatthe source document P mounted on the document feed tray 11 is fedthrough the inlet port 6 toward the reading units 20 a and 20 b insidethe main body 2A.

A discharge port 18 is provided on the front side of the main body 2A sothat the source document P that has been read is discharged to thedischarge tray 5 through the discharge port 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a document transport path T is provided insidethe main body 2A. The document feed tray 11 is located at the upstreamend of the document transport path T. Downstream of the document feedtray 11, provided are a feed roller 14 that feeds the source document Pmounted on the document feed tray 11 to the reading units 20 a and 20 b,and a separation roller 15 that nips the source document P incollaboration with the feed roller 14 to thereby separate the sourcedocument P.

The feed roller 14 contacts a lowermost one of source documents Pmounted on the document feed tray 11. Accordingly, when a sourcedocument P including a plurality of sheets is set on the document feedtray 11 in the scanner 1A, the sheets of the source document P aresequentially fed to the downstream side, from the lowermost one.

In addition, a mounting sensor 21 exemplifying the medium detector isprovided on the document feed tray 11 to detect whether a sourcedocument P is present on the document feed tray 11.

A transport drive roller 16 a and a transport slave roller 16 b areprovided downstream of the feed roller 14 so that the source document Pfed by these rollers are transported to the region between the readingunits 20 a and 20 b.

The reading units 20 a and 20 b are located so as to oppose each otheracross the document transport path T so that one or both of the faces ofthe source document P are read by the reading units 20 a and 20 b. Inthis embodiment, the reading units 20 a and 20 b are constituted, forexample, as a contact image sensor module (CISM).

The source document P, one or both of the faces of which have been readby the reading units 20 a and 20 b, is nipped between a discharge driveroller 17 a and a discharge slave roller 17 b located downstream of thereading units 20 a and 20 b, and discharged through the discharge port18.

The main body 2A is supported by a pedestal 8 via a pivotal shaft 4 asillustrated in FIG. 1 so that the posture of the main body 2A withrespect to an installation base G on which the scanner 1 is installed isadjusted by pivoting about the pivotal shaft 4. The installation base Gis a horizontal surface. The posture of the main body 2A with respect tothe pedestal 8 is fixed by a fixing screw 9. Although FIG. 1 illustratesthe pivotal shaft 4 and the fixing screw 9 only on the right side of themain body 2A, the pivotal shaft 4 and the fixing screw 9 are provided onboth sides thereof.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate the state where the main body 2A assumes aninclined posture, while FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 illustrate the state where themain body 2A assumes a horizontal posture. Here, the inclined posturerefers to a posture in which a mounting surface 22 a of a mounting table22, to be subsequently described, is inclined with respect to theinstallation base G (horizontal surface), and the horizontal posturerefers to a posture in which the mounting surface 22 a is parallel tothe installation base G (horizontal surface).

The main body 2A includes a posture sensor 19 (see FIG. 2) exemplifyingthe posture detector, and a control unit 10 (see FIG. 2) exemplifyingthe controller that controls the operations of the scanner 1A. Thecontrol unit 10 recognizes the posture of the main body 2A based on adetection signal received from the posture sensor 19 and performs anecessary control as the case may be.

In this embodiment, the document feed tray 11 and the discharge tray 5are configured to switch between postures with respect to the main body2A as illustrated in FIG. 5. More specifically, the document feed tray11 is configured to swing about a downstream edge (not shown), and thedischarge tray 5 is configured to swing about an upstream edge (notshown). Accordingly, the posture of the document feed tray 11 isadjustable within an angular range α in FIG. 5, and the posture of thedischarge tray 5 is adjustable within an angular range β in FIG. 5. InFIG. 5, a reference numeral 11-1 denotes the document feed tray in aposture before being switched, and a reference numeral 5-1 denotes thedischarge tray in a posture before being switched. The posture of eachof the trays can be retained by various methods, for example, byutilizing friction force or by fitting between a projection and arecess.

Accordingly, for example, when the main body 2A is set to the horizontalposture as illustrated in FIG. 5, the document feed tray 11 and thedischarge tray 5 can both be set to the horizontal posture. Therefore,the work efficiency in setting the source document P on the documentfeed tray 11 and picking up the source document P from the dischargetray 5 can be improved, and also sheets of the source document Pdischarged through the discharge port 18 can be more smoothly stacked.

Hereunder, the mounting table 22 exemplifying the mounting sectionprovided on the upper face of the main body 2A will be described. Inthis embodiment, the mounting table 22 has a rectangular shape, theupper surface of which serves as the mounting surface 22 a for mountingthereon the source document P yet to be fed, or the source document Pthat has been read. Whereas the mounting table 22 may be formed ofvarious materials, it is preferable that the mounting surface 22 aprovides relatively high friction force with respect to the sourcedocument P to prevent the source document P from slipping off whenmounted on the mounting surface 22 a. In this case, the mounting table22 may be formed of a high-friction material (e.g., an elastomer such asrubber) as a whole, or only the mounting surface 22 a may be formed of ahigh-friction material. Alternatively, instead of employing ahigh-friction material to form the mounting surface 22 a, ananti-slipping treatment may be applied to the mounting surface 22 a soas to increase the friction force.

The mounting table 22 is removably attached to the main body 2A in thisembodiment, and FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 illustrate the mounting table 22attached to the main body 2A, while FIG. 4 illustrates the mountingtable 22 removed from the main body 2A. Providing thus the mountingtable 22 as a removable element contributes to reducing the overall sizeof the apparatus, when the mounting table 22 is not in use. In addition,in the case where the operation panel 7 is provided on the upper face ofthe main body 2A as in this embodiment, the operation panel 7 can beaccessed when the mounting table 22 is removed.

Referring to FIG. 4, the upper face 3 a of the casing 3 constituting theouter shell of the main body 2A is formed generally as a planar surface,and a fitting recess 3 e is formed at each of the four corners. Afitting projection 22 b is formed at each of the four corners of thelower surface of the mounting table 22, and when the fitting projections22 b are fitted in the respective fitting recesses 3 e, the mountingtable 22 is positioned with respect to the main body 2A.

Here, it is not necessarily the fitting projections 22 b and the fittingrecesses 3 e being formed so as to be fitted with a certain pressingforce, but it suffices that the mounting table 22 is prevented fromslipping off from the casing 3, when the main body 2A assumes theinclined posture as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, it is preferable toform the fitting projections 22 b and the fitting recesses 3 e requiringa certain pressing force to achieve the fitting, because in this casethe backlash of the mounting table 22 can be prevented. It is alsopreferable, from such a viewpoint, to form at least one of the fittingprojection 22 b and the fitting recess 3 e from an elastic material sothat the fitting therebetween is achieved via elastic deformation.

The mounting table 22 attached to the outer face of the casing 3constituting the outer shell of the main body 2A is formed in a sizethat can receive the source document P to be set on the document feedtray 11. Accordingly, the user can set the source document P to be fedalong an extremely short motion line of the hand, and therefore the workefficiency can be improved. As an additional advantage, it is no longernecessary to ensure a space for placing the source document P to be set,around the apparatus.

In FIG. 5, a reference character Pt denotes the document stack mountedon the mounting table 22, and a reference character U2 denotes themotion line of the user's hand, when setting the source document P onthe document feed tray 11, out of the document stack Pt on the mountingtable 22. Employing the mounting table 22 enables the motion line U2 tobe significantly shortened.

The size of the mounting table 22 will be described in further detailhereunder. In FIG. 1, a length X1 represents a maximum size that can beinserted in the inlet port 6, and a length X2 in FIG. 3 represents theshort side length of the mounting table 22. A length Y1 in FIG. 1represents the long side length of a sheet, stipulated to have a shortside length corresponding to the length X1, and a length Y2 in FIG. 3represents the long side length of the mounting table 22.

For example, the size A4 according to ISO 216 may be adopted as thesheet stipulated to have a short side length of X1 and a long sidelength of Y1. In this case, the length Y1 is 297 mm, and the length X1is 210 mm. This size corresponds to the largest size of the sheet thatcan be set on the scanner 1 to be fed and read.

To stably mount on the mounting table 22 the source document P to be seton the document feed tray 11, it is preferable that the length X2 islonger than the length X1, and the length Y2 is longer than the lengthY1. However, it is not mandatory to satisfy such a condition, providedthat the source document P is prevented from falling off from themounting table 22. Such a size can be determined as desired, by personsskilled in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 6, feed modes of the scanner 1 will be describedhereunder. The control unit 10 (see FIG. 2) decides whether the mainbody is in the inclined posture (FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) or in the horizontalposture (FIG. 3 to FIG. 5), based on a detection signal received fromthe posture sensor 19 (see FIG. 2) (step S101), and switches between thefeed modes depending on the posture.

Specifically, upon deciding at step S101 that the main body is in theinclined posture, the control unit 10 selects a normal feed mode. In thenormal feed mode, when an instruction to start a scanning job isreceived (Y at step S102), the control unit 10 feeds and scans thedocument (step S103). When the control unit 10 decides that the lastsheet of the source document P on the document feed tray 11 has been fed(Y at step S104), based on a detection signal received from the mountingsensor 21 (see FIG. 2), the control unit 10 finishes the job.

In contrast, upon deciding that the main body is in the horizontalposture, the control unit 10 selects a standby feed mode. In the standbyfeed mode, the control unit 10 feeds and scans the document (step S106)upon deciding that the source document P is mounted on the document feedtray 11, based on a detection signal received from the mounting sensor21. However, the control unit 10 does not finish the feed job, despitedeciding that the last sheet of the source document P on the documentfeed tray 11 has been fed (Y at step S107), based on a detection signalreceived from the mounting sensor 21 (see FIG. 2), but temporarilysuspends the feed job until a next source document P is mounted on thedocument feed tray 11 (N at step S105). Then upon detecting that asource document P has been mounted on the document feed tray 11, basedon a detection signal received from the mounting sensor 21 (Y at stepS105), the control unit 10 again feeds and scans the document (stepS106).

The above arrangement eliminates the need to operate the operation panel7 each time, when repeating the process of picking up the sourcedocument P from the document stack Pt on the mounting table 22 andsetting the source document P on the document feed tray 11, as indicatedby the motion line U2 in FIG. 5. Therefore, the user-friendliness of thescanner 1 can be improved.

Here, instead of selecting the feed mode based on the posture of themain body, a sensor for detecting whether a source document P is presenton the mounting table 22 may be provided, to thereby select the normalfeed mode when there is no source document P on the mounting table 22,and select the standby feed mode when there is a source document P onthe mounting table 22.

To detect whether a source document is on the mounting table 22, forexample, an optical sensor or pressure sensor may be employed.

Referring to FIG. 7 and the subsequent drawings, other embodiments willbe described hereunder. In FIG. 7 and the subsequent drawings, asmentioned above, the same elements are given the same numeral, and thedescription thereof will not be repeated.

A scanner 1B according to a second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7includes a mounting table 22A. Unlike the mounting table 22 describedwith reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, the mounting table 22A includes wallportions 29 a, 29 b, 29 c, and 29 d, formed on the upper face. The wallportions 29 a to 29 d are located so as to oppose the respective sidesof the source document P mounted on the mounting table 22A. Such aconfiguration prevents or suppress slipping off of the source document Pfrom the mounting table 22A.

Although the wall portions are provided on all the four sides of themounting table 22A in FIG. 7, the wall portion may be provided on atleast one of the sides thereof. In this case, the document P can beprevented or restricted from slipping off from the mounting section in adirection toward the wall portion.

In FIG. 7, lengths X3 and Y3 represent the length of the regionsurrounded by the wall portions 29 a to 29 d. It is preferable that,like the lengths X2 and Y2 (see FIG. 3) described above, the lengths X3and Y3 are longer than the lengths X1 and Y1 (see FIG. 1), respectively.

A scanner 1C according to a third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 andFIG. 9 includes an operation panel 70 located in an upper portion of thecasing 30 constituting a main body 2B. The operation panel 70 isconfigured to pivot about a shaft 71. The shaft 71 is attached to a balllink 72, which provides a sufficient degree of freedom in changing theposture.

The upper face 30 a of the casing 30 includes a recess 30 b so that theoperation panel 70 can be located inside the recess 30 b and does notprotrude from the upper face 30 a.

A recess 30 c is formed on the right-side face of the casing 30, andtherefore the operation panel 70 can be located inside the recess 30 cas illustrated in FIG. 9, because of the degree of freedom in changingthe posture provided by the shaft 71 and the ball link 72.

Thus, the position of the operation panel 70 can be switched between afirst position covered with the mounting table 22 (FIG. 8) and a secondposition not covered with the mounting table 22 (FIG. 9). Therefore,even when the mounting table 22 is attached to the upper face of themain body 2B, setting the operation panel 70 to the second positionenables the operation panel 70 to be accessed.

Here, the mounting table 22 may be excluded, and the upper face 30 a ofthe casing 30 may be utilized as the mounting table for mounting thesource document P thereon. In other words, the casing 30 itself mayserve as the mounting table 22. In this case also, since the position ofthe operation panel 70 can equally be switched between the firstposition (FIG. 8) covered with the source document P mounted on theupper face 30 a of the casing 30, and the second position (FIG. 9) notcovered with the source document P, the operability of the operationpanel 70 can be ensured.

In the case where the source document P directly covers the upper faceof the operation panel 70 as above, it is preferable to employ a touchpanel based on electrostatic capacitance to constitute the operationpanel 70. In this case, the touch panel can be prevented or restrictedfrom reacting even if the source document P contacts the operation panel70, and therefore an erroneous operation can be prevented or restricted.

The control unit 10 may invalidate an instruction inputted through theoperation panel 70, when the main body assumes a posture that allows thesource document P to be mounted on the mounting table 22, for example,the horizontal posture. Such an arrangement prevents the operation panel7 from being erroneously operated, when the mounting table 22 is in use.

Further, instead of allowing the operation panel 70 to switch betweenthe postures, the operation panel 70 may be fixed to a face other thanthe face on which the mounting table 22 is provided, for example, at theposition (side face of the casing) illustrated in FIG. 9. In this case,the operation panel is not covered with the mounting table 22, andtherefore the operability of the operation panel can be ensured.

In a scanner 1D according to a fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10,the mounting table 22 is attached to a main body 2C so as to pivot withrespect thereto about a pivotal shaft 23. A support column 24 isattached to the main body 2C so as to pivot about a pivotal shaft 24 a,and therefore when the upper face of the main body is inclined asillustrated in the drawing on the left in FIG. 10, the mounting table 22can be maintained in the horizontal posture, as illustrated in thedrawing on the right in FIG. 10, with the support column 24. A referencenumeral 22 c denotes an abutment to be engaged with the support column24.

Allowing thus the mounting table 22 to switch between the postures withrespect to the main body 2C enables the mounting table 22 to be set to aposture that facilitates the source document P to be mounted thereon. Inaddition, since the upper face of the main body 2C is exposed, theoperation panel 7 (see FIG. 1) can be accessed.

As another embodiment in which the mounting table 22 can switch theposture, a configuration illustrated in FIG. 11 may be adopted. Ascanner 1E illustrated in FIG. 11 includes, inside a main body 2D, adrive pulley 26 driven by a non-illustrated motor. A slave pulley 25 isprovided on the mounting table 22, and a belt 27 is wound around theslave pulley 25 and the drive pulley 26. When the drive pulley 26rotates, the slave pulley 25 is made to rotate so as to change theposture of the mounting table 22 from the right drawing in FIG. 11 tothe left drawing in FIG. 11, or vice versa.

A scanner 1F according to a fifth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12includes support legs 33 and 34 located on the bottom face of a mainbody 2E. The support legs 33 and 34 are attached so as to pivot aboutfulcrums 33 a and 34 a, respectively, and the posture of the main body2E with respect to the installation base G can be switched by thepivoting of the support legs 33 and 34 from the right drawing in FIG. 12to the left drawing in FIG. 12, or vice versa.

Further, a scanner 1G according to a sixth embodiment illustrated inFIG. 13 includes bottom faces 35 a and 35 b, located on the bottomportion of a main body 2F. The bottom faces 35 a and 35 b are eachformed as a planar surface so as to intersect at a predetermined angle.Switching the surface to make contact with the installation base Gbetween the bottom faces 35 a and 35 b enables the posture of the mainbody 2F with respect to the installation base G to be switched from theright drawing in FIG. 13 to the left drawing in FIG. 13, or vice versa.

Still further, in a scanner 1H according to a seventh embodimentillustrated in FIG. 14, a main body 2G is supported by a pedestal 28.The pedestal 28 includes tray supporters 28 a and 28 b, which alsosupport the document feed tray 11 and the discharge tray 5,respectively. Employing the pedestal 28 enables the posture of the mainbody 2G with respect to the installation base G to be switched from theright drawing in FIG. 14 to the left drawing in FIG. 14, or vice versa.

An advantage of some aspects of the embodiment disclosed herein isprovision of an image reading apparatus that is more user-friendly tothe user setting and scanning the source document.

In an aspect, the embodiment provides an image reading apparatusincluding a medium support section that supports a medium to be fed, areading unit that performs reading on the medium fed from the mediumsupport section, and a mounting section on which the medium to be set onthe medium support section is mountable, the mounting section beinglocated on an outer face of a main body including the reading unit.

The image reading apparatus according to the aspect includes themounting section on which the medium to be set on the medium supportsection is mountable, and the mounting section is located on the outerface of the main body including the reading unit. Accordingly, the usercan set the medium to be fed along an extremely short motion line of thehand, and therefore the work efficiency can be improved.

As an additional advantage, it is no longer necessary to ensure a spacefor placing the medium to be set, around the image reading apparatus.

In the image reading apparatus, the mounting section may include a wallportion opposed to at least a side of the medium to be mounted.

In this case, since the mounting section includes the wall portionopposed to at least a side of the medium to be mounted, the medium canbe prevented or restricted from slipping off from the mounting sectionin a direction toward the wall portion.

In the image reading apparatus, the mounting section may be configuredto receive a medium of an A4 size according to ISO 216.

In this case, the advantages described above can be attained, with theconfiguration in which the medium of the A4 size according to ISO 216 ismountable on the mounting section.

In the image reading apparatus, the mounting section may be configuredto switch between postures with respect to the main body.

In this case, since the mounting section can switch between the postureswith respect to the main body, the mounting section can be set to aposture that facilitates the medium to be mounted thereon.

In the image reading apparatus, the mounting section may be removablyattached to the main body.

In this case, since the mounting section is removably attached to themain body, the overall size of the image reading apparatus can be madesmaller, when it is unnecessary to use the mounting section.

The image reading apparatus may include an operation unit for executingoperations of the apparatus, the operation unit being provided in themain body, and the operation unit may be configured to switch between afirst position in which the operation unit is covered with the mountingsection or the medium mounted on the mounting section, and a secondposition in which the operation unit is not covered with the mountingsection or the medium mounted on the mounting section.

In this case, since the image reading apparatus includes the operationunit for executing the operations of the apparatus, the operation unitbeing provided in the main body, and the operation unit is configured toswitch between the first position in which the operation unit is coveredwith the mounting section or the medium mounted on the mounting sectionand the second position in which the operation unit is not covered withthe mounting section or the medium mounted on the mounting section,setting the operation unit to the second position enables the operationunit to be operated.

The image reading apparatus may include an operation unit for executingoperations of the apparatus, the operation unit being provided in themain body, and the operation unit may be located on a face of the mainbody other than a face on which the mounting section is provided.

In this case, since the image reading apparatus includes the operationunit for executing the operations of the apparatus, the operation unitbeing provided in the main body, and the operation unit is located onthe face of the main body other than the face on which the mountingsection is provided, the operation unit can be kept from being coveredwith the mounting section and therefore the operability of the operationunit can be ensured.

The image reading apparatus may include an operation unit for executingoperations of the apparatus, the operation unit being provided in themain body, and the operation unit may include a touch panel based onelectrostatic capacitance.

In this case, since the image reading apparatus includes the operationunit for executing the operations of the apparatus, the operation unitbeing provided in the main body, and the operation unit includes thetouch panel based on electrostatic capacitance, the touch panel can beprevented or restricted from reacting even if the mounted mediumcontacts the operation unit, and therefore an erroneous operation can beprevented or restricted.

The image reading apparatus may include an operation unit for executingoperations of the apparatus, the operation unit being provided in themain body, and the main body may be configured to switch betweenpostures with respect to an installation base on which the main body isinstalled. The image reading apparatus may further include a controllerthat controls operations of the apparatus, the controller beingconfigured to invalidate an instruction inputted through the operationunit, when the main body assumes a posture that allows the medium to bemounted on the mounting section.

In this case, the main body is configured to switch between the postureswith respect to the installation base on which the main body isinstalled, and the controller that controls the operations of theapparatus is configured to invalidate the instruction inputted throughthe operation unit, when the main body assumes the posture that allowsthe medium to be mounted on the mounting section. Therefore, theoperation unit can be prevented from being erroneously operated, whenthe mounting section is in use.

In the image reading apparatus, the main body may be configured toswitch between postures with respect to an installation base on whichthe main body is installed. The image reading apparatus may furtherinclude a controller that controls operations of the apparatus, aposture detector that detects the posture of the main body, a mediumdetector that detects whether the medium is present on the mediumsupport section. The controller may be configured to perform a normalfeed mode including finishing a feed job upon detecting, based on adetection signal from the medium detector, that a last medium on themedium support section has been fed, and a standby feed mode includingtemporarily suspending the feed job upon detecting, based on a detectionsignal from the medium detector, that a last medium on the mediumsupport section has been fed, entering a standby state until a nextmedium is mounted on the medium support section, and resuming the feedjob when the next medium is mounted on the medium support section, andswitch between the normal feed mode and the standby feed mode, based ondetection information from the posture detector.

The above configuration improves the user-friendliness of the apparatus,in the case where the user repeats the operation including picking upthe medium from the mounting section, and setting the medium on themedium support section, to feed and scan the medium.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image reading apparatus comprising: a firstmedium support section that supports a medium to be fed; a casing thatincludes a reading unit that performs reading on the medium fed from thefirst medium support section; a reading unit that performs reading onthe medium fed from the first medium support section; and a postureswitching section that is configured to switch between a first posturein which the casing is inclined obliquely and a second posture in whichthe casing is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction more thanin the first posture, wherein an upper face of the casing is configuredto be utilized as a second medium support section that is configured tomount the medium when the casing is in the second posture.
 2. The imagereading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a dischargetray that receives the medium discharged from the casing and isconfigured to switch postures with respect to the casing.
 3. The imagereading apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the upper face of thecasing is inclined along the horizontal direction when the casing is inthe second posture.
 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3,wherein the discharge tray and the first medium support section areconfigured to be inclined along the horizontal direction when the casingis in the second posture.
 5. The image reading apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising: a controller that controls operations ofthe apparatus; and a posture detector that detects the postures ofcasing, wherein the controller determines the postures of casing basedon detection information from the posture detector.
 6. The image readingapparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controller is configured toselect a first feed mode, which is different from a second feed modewhich is selected in the first posture, in the second posture.
 7. Theimage reading apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising anoperation panel for executing operations of the apparatus, wherein theoperation panel is provided at a recess portion of the upper face of thecasing and does not protrude from the upper face of the casing.
 8. Theimage reading apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operationpanel is configured to switch postures with respect to the upper face ofthe casing.
 9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 7, whereinthe operation panel is a touch panel based on electrostatic capacitance.10. The image reading apparatus according to claim 7, furthercomprising: a controller that controls operations of the apparatus; anda posture detector that detects the postures of casing, wherein thecontroller determines the postures of casing based on detectioninformation from the posture detector, the controller restricts anoperation of the operation panel when the casing is in the secondposture.
 11. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising a feed roller that feeds the medium mounted on the firstmedium support to the reading unit.
 12. An image reading apparatuscomprising: a first medium support section that supports a medium to befed; a case that includes a reading unit that performs reading on themedium fed from the first medium support section; a reading unit thatperforms reading on the medium fed from the first medium supportsection; and a posture switching section that is configured to switchbetween a first posture in which the casing is inclined obliquely and asecond posture in which the case is inclined with respect to ahorizontal direction more than in the first posture, wherein an upperface of the case is configured to mount the medium when the case is inthe second posture and includes a wall portion opposed to at least aside of the medium to be mounted.
 13. The image reading apparatusaccording to claim 12, further comprising a feed roller that feeds themedium mounted on the first medium support to the reading unit.